Animal Rights--Yes or No (Pro/Con)

An objective, thought-provoking study of the issue of animal rights examines both sides of the controversy to help readers make up their own minds about the subject.

Grade 5-10-Owen presents both sides of this controversial issue, though she comes down slightly on the side of the animals. She covers not only their use/ abuse in laboratory situations, but also on farms, in circuses and zoos, in the natural environment, in the food industry, and even in homes as pets. Legal measures that ensure animal protection and the actions of some extremists' groups are recounted. Documentation is provided wherever possible and an extensive bibliography is appended. Strangely missing is Laurence Pringle's fine, unemotional, well-reasoned The Animal Rights Controversy (Harcourt, 1989). Abundant black-and-white and full-color photographs of varying degrees of clarity are interspersed throughout; some are the sort used by animal-rights activists to prove their points. A list of addresses for organizations on both sides is included. Though somewhat repetitive, and a tad less than evenhanded, this is a clear look at an emotionally charged issue.
Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A freelancer uses historical background, both recent and ancient (the Greeks, Descartes, Kant, etc.)--in greater detail than either Daniel Cohen (p. 857) or Charles Patterson (p. 865) in their books of the same title--to launch back-and-forth questions: ``Do humans have the right to use other species for their own purposes? Is there some middle ground on which the two sides can agree?'' Discussions of intensive farming, animals as entertainment (good and bad), and animals in medicine, cosmetics, industry, and research ensue. In a well balanced text, Owen not only describes, for example, alternative, less cruel tests for determining the toxicity of cosmetics, but explains how animals themselves may benefit from animal research; agencies in both camps stand side by side in an organization list. Photos; resources; notes; bibliography; glossary; index. (Nonfiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 6-10. Owen posits three commonly held positions on animal rights: one, animals are inferior and can be used as humans see fit; two, animals may be used in ways that greatly benefit mankind but should be treated as humanely as possible; three, animals have innate rights and should not be dominated or exploited by humans. She divides her book into chapters dealing with the various ways animals are used (or abused) by humans, such as for medical research, cosmetics and fashion, and entertainment and in agriculture and industry. She presents the objections given by animal rights activists to these uses and the responses given by defenders. Owen seems to give an evenhanded report, citing, for instance, cases of extreme cruelty to animals involved in medical research and presenting possible alternatives, such as using computer models or doing tests on cell and tissue cultures rather than on live animals. But she also lists the safeguards that are in place to prevent mistreatment and the great benefits that have come to humans because of animal research. Photographs are usually small but appropriate and well placed. This could be a useful book for people struggling to define their own positions in the debate over animal rights. Sheilamae O'Hara